By Perry Wu
This past week saw mild technology business adjustments and a weak spattering of new deals in China. It felt like the business world was still nursing a New Year's Eve hangover.

About every 18 months we hear rumors that Linux will soon prevail in China because it offers a low-cost alternative to Micro$oft and other embedded, costly software. It never happens, but some companies are still slowly trodding on. Open Country has entered into a partnership agreement with Linux solutions provider Turbolinux to deliver management capabilities for Turbolinux's Chinese customers. Under the terms of the agreement, a customized Mandarin version of Open Country's OCM Universal Systems Management Suite will be bundled with Turbolinux Server 10.5 for the Chinese market.

If you are an expatriate or a local living in China, you know that the banking system is still fractured among provinces. Even better–for those people prone to not pay their bills–the credit rating system is still in its infancy with little checking of past payment histories. Unfortunately things are soon to change: China's Central Bank will include mobile phone users' overdue payment behavior in their credit rating system in an effort to help catch potential problems. The bank is also cooperating with the labor and social insurance departments, to study how to include enterprise quality information, delayed tax payments, social insurance payments, employees' salaries and other indicators into the credit ratings.

With the U.N. Global Compact revving up in China, corporate social responsibility is all the rage in China. China Mobile last week issued its corporate responsibility report, the first one ever issued in China's telecommunications industry. The report highlights the achievements that China Mobile has made in carrying out its social responsibility since its foundation seven years ago and puts forward ways they will increase the harmonious development of the company, society and environment as the main objectives for their operations. For readers excited about all the corporate social responsibility movements in China, be sure to also visit ChinaCSR.com.

Finally, embedded networking and communications software firm Teja Technologies has announced an agreement with China-based Tekview to distribute Teja's Teja NP software platform throughout China. Who says software can't make money in China?

About the author:
Perry Wu is a writer and correspondent for ChinaTechNews.com and can be reached here at the site. Perry Wu does not hold any positions, long or short, on any of the Chinese or American company securities mentioned in this article.